Mazunte: Another
corner of paradise

Mazunte, main street

I was suffering from tourist envy. Puerto Escondido is
obviously paradise for visitors; they seem so happy
and relaxed. But when you live here, it’s just home. So
I decided to take a vacation in Mazunte.

While there are a bunch of small, upscale hotels with
swimming pools and air conditioning on the hills above
the town (the Zoa charges $280 to $300 U.S. a night), the
hotels and hostels near the beach are very affordable:
100 pesos a night for a room in a hostel without a private
bath.

Posada del Arquitecto, Mazunte

I chose the Posada del Arquitecto on the Rinconcito
beach. For 450 pesos a night (550 during high season) I
had a room with a double bed, mosquito netting, a fan
and a large terrace with a hammock. Since the hotel is built into a hillside, all
the rooms are all
at different levels.
I loved it.

Cappuccino
at the hotel’s
beachside café
is only 15 pesos,
but most people
favored beer.
Across the street
was the more
elegant Estrella
Fugaz (cappuccino
25 pesos). A
few steps up the
block were grocery
stores and a bakery that had Argentine pastries. The
Italian restaurant, Sahuaro, on the other side of the hotel,
is great for dinner.

Mazunte beach

While I alternated between the tranquility of Rinconcito
beach and the hammock, Lalo Romero, ¡Viva
Puerto!’s photographer was busy covering the skimboard
competition on the main beach. (See article) On
the five-minute walk on calle Rinconcito from the beach
to the main street, we discovered Armadillo, an art gallery
and restaurant.

Artist and sculptor Raúl Ávila, the owner of Armadillo,
has lived in Mazunte since 1995 and has many tales to
tell over a mezcal. Another tourist experience: going out
drinking every night!

Punta Cometa, a nature reserve just outside of Mazunte,
is famous for its sunsets. It also offers a taste of
what most of the coast look liked before it was cleared: a
thick forest of briars and thorns. A must visit.

Mazunte attracts younger foreign and Mexican travelers,
most of whom stay two or three nights, or forever.
After three nights, I was ready to move on too, but not
before visiting San Agustinillo. This neighboring beach
town attracts at older crowd, and México, !Qué Lindo! is
the place to eat and hang out on a hammock.

On the way back to Puerto, we stopped at Ventanilla,
a small village dedicated to eco-tourism. This was my
fourth visit in six years to the lagoon, and I was shocked
to see the devastation to the mangroves wrought by last
June’s hurricane Carlotta. But the crocodiles are still in the
water and the birds flock in the late afternoon. If you go,
be sure to take a canoe tour with the Centro Ecoturístico;
the ticket office is on the left side of the street. There is a
competing tour operator across the street, but that tour
does not have access to the visitors’ center in the lagoon.

Getting there: It’s less than an hour drive from Puerto to
Mazunte. Take the Coastal Highway east towards Huatulco,
the turn-off for Mazunte is well marked. Or take any bus going
to Pochutla and get off at San Antonio. From there you
can get a colectivo or taxi.